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`This splendid collection of essays from the past publications of the IEA, with their reiteration of the case for free trade and the accompanying process of globalization, is very timely.'
- Deepak Lal, University of California at Los Angeles, US

`A lucidly expert presentation of the convincing and enduring arguments for free trade - all now urgent reading, at a time when protectionism is on the march and the market economy everywhere under threat.'
- The Rt. Hon. The Lord Howe of Aberavon, CH, QC, House of Lords, UK

Protectionism is back on the agenda as the financial crisis deepens. With calls for measures that purport to protect low income workers growing louder in the West, it is essential that the economic arguments in favour of free trade and globalization are re-emphasised.

Philip Booth and Richard Wellings have brought together key papers originally published by the Institute of Economic Affairs, which, for the past 50 years, has been vigorously defending the case for free trade, and for globalization more generally. These important papers, which are not widely available, trace the development of the debate on the benefits of free trade during the last 50 years.

The editors have written an authoritative introduction which offers a comprehensive overview of the arguments for and against globalization. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A superbly crafted and presented overview of the pro and con arguments
Deftly co-edited by Philip Booth and Richard Wellings, "Globalization And Free Trade" is a 713-page compendium consisting of informed and informative essays focused on free trade and the process of economic globalization drawn from past publications of the IEA over the past five decades. Of special note is the succinct yet detailed introduction by Booth and Wellings providing the reader with a superbly crafted and presented overview of the pro and con arguments regarding economic globalization. Of enduring value is the extensive list of references and comprehensive index, making "Globalization And Free Trade" an indispensable contribution to academic library Economics reference collections in general, and supplemental reading lists on the issues of economic globalization in particular. ... Read more

Product Description
The British system of universal development control celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1997. Remarkably, the system has survived more or less intact but the experience of the 1980s has left large questions unanswered about the relevance and effectiveness of the system. This book traces the history of the development control system in Britain from early modern times to the present day. ... Read more

Product Description
Since the Bank of England was made independent in 1997, the conduct of monetary policy has been relatively uncontroversial. The debates between Keyneisans, monetarists and supporters of fixed exchange rate mechanisms now appear very distant.

Despite the apparent consensus there are many issues related to the conduct of monetary policy that are not yet settled and which will soon come to the fore. Is the current form of independence for the Bank of England appropriate? Should a central bank target inflation or the prices level? How does a central bank deal with asset price deflation? Should more account be taken of monetary aggregates? Should central banks target asset prices? What is the relationship between the money supply and asset price inflation? How should central banks ensure financial stability?

The IEA was at the forefront of changing the parameters of the debate surrounding monetary policy in the 1970s and 1980s. This text, brings together some of the leading authors in the field, including the current Governor of the Bank of England, to discuss current issues in monetary policy and the relationship between monetary policy and financial markets. It is appropriate for undergraduates and postgraduates in economics and finance as well as for practitioners in financial markets. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Good for pre-2005 financial crisis research
This book is an excellent piece that discusses the relationship between monetary policy and market activity. It will need to be updated for the most recent crisis issues. ... Read more

Product Description
In the years since the publication of the best-selling first edition, the incorporation of ideas and theories from the rapidly growing field of financial economics has precipitated considerable development of thinking in the actuarial profession. Modern Actuarial Theory and Practice, Second Edition integrates those changes and presents an up-to-date, comprehensive overview of UK and international actuarial theory, practice and modeling. It describes all of the traditional areas of actuarial activity, but in a manner that highlights the fundamental principles of actuarial theory and practice as well as their economic, financial, and statistical foundations. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

excellent book
I'm very satisfiled with the book. So many useful stuff in one place. Recommending to anybody like insurance business.

Everything you ever wanted to know about actuarial science
"Modern Actuarial Theory and Practice" is an excellent reference book for actuaries and advanced actuarial students. It provides up to date overviews of all of the main issues in the traditional areas of actuarial science, that is, investments, life insurance, general insurance (a.k.a. property and casualty insurance), pensions and health insurance, with a reference list given at the end of each chapter, to allow the reader to pursue the topic further, if so desired. Each topic is clearly explained, and the detailed index and table of contents make it easy to find what you are looking for.

This is a British text book, which was written in the context of the U.K. financial and insurance environments. However, most of the topics covered in this book are universal and as an Australian, I found this book to be just as useful as if it had been written for people in my country.

Be aware that the authors' purpose in writing this book appears to be to provide a reference for practicing actuaries or students who are about to commence practicing as an actuary. As a result, there are only a few worked examples throughout this book and no practice exercises. I am currently doing a PhD in actuarial studies, and I am also a lecturer in actuarial studies at an Australian university. I found this book to be exactly what I needed to assist me in my PhD. However, most of the material in this text is too advanced for my final year undergraduate actuarial students.

Useful and Relevant for Institute 300 series
A very clear book covering the Exams in the 300 series for the institute of Actuaries.Topics include Pensions, investment, asset modeling and Life. ... Read more

Product Description
This work provides a thorough grounding in investment mathematics together with applications in the investment area. The book is designed for students of finance and investment, and will prove an essential source of reference for practitioners within the securities and investment industry worldwide.

Investment Mathematics is divided into three parts. Part I looks at the fundamental analysis of investments from a mathematical viewpoint, relying heavily on compound interest techniques which are developed in the first chapter. The material is presented in such a way that those without formal training in mathematics will be able to follow the text without difficulty.

Part II provides the necessary statistical background for investment specialists. Like Part I, the approach assumes little formal mathematical training. Finally, the book deals with a number of specialist topics which are applications of the material covered earlier, including modern portfolio theory and asset pricing, market indices, portfolio performance measurement, stochastic investment models and the theoretical pricing of options.

Investment Mathematics is an accessible text which will provide readers with a sound analytical framework within which the valuation of investments and investment in a wider context may be studied. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Poorly presented, no use
It just like a series of unreadable words with equations. Poorly presented with not much explanation. Waste of time.

A Great non-calc/non-linear algebra Financial Math book
*Investment Mathematics* is the best (and perhaps only) book that deals with financial mathematics in a serious and useful way without requiring much in the way of math prerequisits (pre-calculus/linear algebra math ... actually a little bit of calculus knowledge would help, but it isn't absolutely necessary). With the potential audience for such a book, I'm surprised that this is the first review of this book.

Unlike other books that don't quite live up to the hype in its backcover descriptions, this book does live up precisely to the descriptions on the cover (and in Amazon's info section). I won't repeat what is written there. To sum up the book very briefly, it covers a wide swathe of issues in financial mathematics that range from basic issues like interest rates and the time value of money all the way up to advanced topics like modern portfolio theory, option pricing, ARCH/GARCH, and Value at Risk.

One thing to note in particular is that this is one of the few finance/investment books that I have seen that goes into detail about downside risk calculations (i.e., "semi-variance"). Most other books, even books that are on a more advanced level, often neglect to deal with the subject or just does some handwaving about it. The authors actually give you the mathematical gist of it in the book.

One of the more useful aspects of this book is not given in the descriptions: It has several sidebars that gives some tips on how to use Excel to implement the models discussed in a practical setting. There are other books that go into more detail (such as *Advanced Modelling in Finance and Investment Using Excel and VBA*) but the authors ought to be commended for putting information about Excel just in case people don't own those other books.

A much more important reason for why I am impressed with this book is that the authors do an excellent and mathematically accurate job of going over the mathematics of finance that doesn't require calculus or linear algebra. I can't think of any other book besides this one that I am familiar with that actually deal with the underlying mathematical logic of finance. Most other books on finance deal with the math on a cookbook level. It is truly refreshing to see a book that helps the reader to see inside the 'black box' of mathematics to see WHY financial formulae and methods are constructed the way they are.

In connection with the point made above, I also appreciated the useful prose, descriptions, pictures, and sidebars that dealt with potentially useful mathematical details and tidbits - like the mechanics of geometric series and the relative positions of the mean, median, and mode, in various distributions - that are not included in most books on finance that I'm aware of. Some of those details may seem basic and trivial, but it is nice to have that information in one place (and/or not have to run to a non-finance math/stat book) and is very instructive for people for whom such details are not trivial.

The only weakness of this book is one of the book's strength: It's lack of calculus and linear algebra. E.g., even when it talks about stochastic models, it really doesn't get into stochastic calculus. On advanced topics such as MPT, option pricing, ARCH/GARCH, etc., the goal seems to be to build intuition. However, this is a rather limited goal. One cannot truly grasp the complexity of those advanced topics without delving into calculus, linear algebra, and advanced probability and statistical theory. For people who are interested in getting a relatively accessible intro into those topics, I would recommend books by people like Paul Wilmott.

So, in summary, I believe that this book will be a useful introduction to financial mathematics pre-calculus/linear algebra. For those looking to get into more advanced topics in financial mathematics, I would highly recommend this book because it gives an excellent overview of those advanced topics and can serve as a bridge to more advanced issues.

In fact, I would recommend this book to some people who consider themselves to be quants dealing with financial math on a higher-level than does this book. Why? Because I strongly believe that many people - even highly sophisticated people - often received cookbook training in financial modeling. Therefore, many people don't understand the basic logical underpinning of what they are doing! *Investment Mathematics* remedies that situation by doing an excellent job of dealing with the mathematical logic of 'basic' financial mathematical models.

Further recommendations: The only other book that I know of that comes close (but is not quite as comprehensive) to dealing with the logical underpinnings of financial formulae/methods and provides useful tidbits on financial math is *Puzzles of Finance* by Mark Kritzman. Another book with a similar zeitgeist (and target audience) as *Investment Mathematics* - but focused in on financial risk - is *Fundamentals of Risk Measurement* by Marrison. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document, covering the life and work of Philip Booth, is an entry from Contemporary Authors, a reference volume published by Thompson Gale. The length of the entry is 1726 words. The page length listed above is based on a typical 300-word page. Although the exact content of each entry from this volume can vary, typical entries include the following information:

• Place and date of birth and death (if deceased)
• Family members
• Education
• Professional associations and honors
• Employment
• Writings, including books and periodicals
• A description of the author's work
• References to further readings about the author

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Canadian Journal of Urban Research, published by Thomson Gale on June 22, 2005. The length of the article is 877 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Jouve, Bernard et Booth, Philip, dirs: Democraties metropolitaines.(Book Review)
Author: Mariona Tomas
Publication: Canadian Journal of Urban Research (Magazine/Journal)
Date: June 22, 2005
Publisher: Thomson Gale
Volume: 14Issue: 1Page: 191(3)

Article Type: Book Review

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Product Description
Chapters: Bill Bryson, Anthony Bannon, Charlie Clouser, Armstrong Sperry, Philip Booth, Laura Bridgman, Jodi Picoult, Eleazar Wheelock, Jay Defeo, John Wheelock, Nancy Lagomarsino, Kevin Lane Keller, Al Barr, John W. Hennessey Jr, Henry Fowle Durant, Tom Dey. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 69. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Anthony Bannon (born 1943) is the director of George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography ... Read more

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Chapters: People From Hanover, New Hampshire, Bill Bryson, Anthony Bannon, Charlie Clouser, Armstrong Sperry, Philip Booth, Laura Bridgman, Jodi Picoult, Eleazar Wheelock, Jay Defeo, John Wheelock, Nancy Lagomarsino, Hood Museum of Art, Kevin Lane Keller, Al Barr, John W. Hennessey Jr, Dresden School District, Henry Fowle Durant, Tom Dey. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 80. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: Hanover, New Hampshire -Hanover was chartered by Governor Benning Wentworth on July 4, 1761, and in 1765-1766 its first inhabitants arrived, the majority from Connecticut. Although the surface is uneven, the town developed into an agricultural community. Dartmouth College was established in 1769 beside the Common at a village called the Plain -- an extensive and level tract of land a mile (1.61 kilometers) from the Connecticut River, and about 150 feet (45.72 meters) above it. At one point in its history, the southwest corner of Hanover was known as Dresden, which in the 1780s joined other disgruntled New Hampshire towns along the Connecticut River that briefly defected to what was then the independent Republic of Vermont. For a time, Dresden was capital of the republic. After various political posturings, however, the towns returned to New Hampshire at the heated insistence of George Washington. One remnant of this era is that the name Dresden is still used in the Dresden School District, an interstate school district serving both Hanover and Norwich, Vermont -- the first and one of the few inter-state school districts in the nation. Etymology"Hannover" (as it was spelled in the charter) was named either after a local parish in Sprague, Connecticut, or after the House of Hannover in honor of the reigning British king, George III. While it is possible that the name "Dresden" de...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=13937 ... Read more

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Not Free SF Reader
When you first come across Philip Jose Farmer, you will generally pick up on the fact that you have come across something new and different, and this is even more of the case if it was a considerable time that you did so.

From oddball fantasy, to the strange alien captivity of Mother, and including even some more mainstream SF here and there.

Classic Philip Jose Farmer : Sail On! Sail On! - Philip Jose Farmer
Classic Philip Jose Farmer : Mother - Philip Jose Farmer
Classic Philip Jose Farmer : The G0d Business - Philip Jose Farmer
Classic Philip Jose Farmer : The Alley Man - Philip Jose Farmer
Classic Philip Jose Farmer : My Sisters Brother - Philip Jose Farmer
Classic Philip Jose Farmer : The King of Beasts - Philip Jose Farmer ... Read more

Product Description
This title features contributions from James Alexander, Michael Beenstock, Philip Booth, Eamonn Butler, Tim Congdon, Laurence Copeland, Kevin Dowd, John Greenwood, Samuel Gregg, John Kay, David Llewellyn, Alan Morrison, D. R Myddelton, Anna Schwartz and Geoffrey Wood. This book challenges the myth that the recent banking crisis was caused by insufficient statutory regulation of financial markets. Though it finds that statutory regulation failed, and that market participants took more risks than they should have done, it appears that statutory regulation made matters worse rather than better. Furthermore the fifteen experts who have contributed to this study find that government policy failed in other respects too. As with the boom and bust that led to the Great Depression, loose monetary policy on both sides of the Atlantic helped to promote an asset price bubble and credit boom which, at some stage, was bound to have serious consequences.Rejecting the failed approach of discretionary detailed regulation of the financial system, the authors instead propose specific and incisive regulatory tools that are designed to target, in a non-intrusive way, particular weaknesses in a banking system that is backed by deposit insurance. This study, by some of the most eminent authors in the field, is essential reading for all those who are interested in the policy implications of recent events in financial markets. ... Read more

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This study of Philip Larkin challenges recent attempts to interpret Larkin's poems by decoding their supposed religious, political or sexual subtexts. Booth argues that historical and social circumstances are, as Larkin himself believed, the context not the substance of his work. He treats Larkin as a deliberate artist, rather than as a political symptom or sexual case-history. By extensive reference to the letters, interviews and prose writings he shows that Larkin's vivid self-image as a patriotic Tory bachelor was an indulgence confined to his later "required" writing. Close readings of a range of Larkin's best loved, as well as lesser known, poems demonstrate that they operate on a more profound imaginative level; either treating universal themes, or alternatively dramatizing and ironising ideological stereotypes in order to create embodiments of experience beyond or beneath ideology. ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This study covers the latent demand outlook for bars, booths, and back bars for bars, bowling centers, cafeterias, and restaurants across the prefectures and cities of Japan. Latent demand (in millions of U.S. dollars), or potential industry earnings (P.I.E.) estimates are given across some 1,000 cities in Japan. For each city in question, the percent share the city is of it’s prefecture and of Japan is reported. These comparative benchmarks allow the reader to quickly gauge a city vis-à-vis others. This statistical approach can prove very useful to distribution and/or sales force strategies. Using econometric models which project fundamental economic dynamics within each prefecture and city, latent demand estimates are created for bars, booths, and back bars for bars, bowling centers, cafeterias, and restaurants. This report does not discuss the specific players in the market serving the latent demand, nor specific details at the product level. The study also does not consider short-term cyclicalities that might affect realized sales. The study, therefore, is strategic in nature, taking an aggregate and long-run view, irrespective of the players or products involved. ... Read more